The end of cash
In principle, the Orbán government has no problem with anchoring the use of cash in the Basic Law. At least that’s what the Prime Minister claimed in parliament, where Fidesz has so far denied corresponding legislative initiatives from the right-wing Mi Hazánk.
The Prime Minister assured in the parliamentary debate on Monday that he had no problem receiving the cash in response to criticism from the leader of Mi Hazánk. László Toroczkai had generally accused the government of siding with the banks. Proportionate to their income, Hungarians paid the highest bank fees in the EU. To ensure that banks cannot abuse their power, the use of cash would have to be enshrined as a constitutional right. The opposition politician referred to Austria and Slovakia and complained that the government parties had blocked such moves by Mi Hazánk in parliament.
Just a fashion topic?
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán responded that these claims were not fair: he did not know of any measure by which the government had restricted the use of cash. Orbán admitted that there were “lots of such applications” from the banking sector and international organizations because the topic was currently “in vogue” around the world. However, his government has not granted any such request and will not allow restrictions on the use of cash. “If international pressure develops that causes us to react at the level of the Basic Law, then we will exercise this resistance,” assured the Prime Minister.
Withdrawal of money “at the push of a button”
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, András Tállai, recently openly admitted in Parliament in November that the government was pursuing the goal of systematically reducing the use of cash. Since then, Mi Hazánk has been calling for cash payments to be declared a fundamental right to freedom. The right fears a European superstate modeled on China, with total digital surveillance and the withdrawal of money “at the push of a button.”
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